27 May, East Ward, Bellcross

I spent the morning attempting to document a peculiar Gremlin tendency to identify machines by sound. This began when a machinist named Pell told me he could identify most common engines while blindfolded, which I assumed to be exaggeration. From adjacent rooms he then identified a pump, a textile loom, a grain mill, and three different classes of stationary steam engine, naming the manufacturer correctly twice. I became interested, and Pell became insufferable.

I therefore arranged a more controlled test in which he would hear recordings made from machinery he had not personally inspected. He performed significantly above chance and correctly identified a damaged bearing in one sample. When I asked how, he said, “It sounded annoyed.”

I requested a technical explanation. He repeated, more slowly, “Annoyed.” I told him this was not a mechanical category, and he informed me that this was because Humans had not yet invented enough categories.

The experiment ended shortly afterwards when he correctly identified my pocket chronometer as “needing oil.” It did. I have not included this final observation in the published table.